Cotton-harvester



(No Model.) 2 sheets-sheen 1.

G. N. TODD. SUTTON HARVESTER.

Patented Aug. 4, 1891.

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2 Sheets-Sheet 2. G. N. TODD COTTON HARVESTER. No. 457,329.

PatentedAAug 4, 1891.

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GEORGE N. TODD, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

COTTON-HARVESTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 457,329, datedv August 4, 1891. Application tiled September 27, 1889. Serial No. 325.295. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE N. TODD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cotton-Harvesters, of which the following is a full, clear, and eXactspeciication.

This invention relates to improvements in cotton-harvesters, in which a series of rotatable picker-stems are journaled in and project radially from an upright revolving' cylinder or support, the said picker-stems being caused to rotate continuously in one direction upon their individual axes through the Amedium of pinions upon the inner ends thereof meshing with fixed internal gears, which form of machine is fully described and claimed in my application for Letters Patent of the United States, Serial No. 143,953, tiled on the 25th day of September, A. D. 1884.

The object of this invention is to provide a simple and eleclive means for removing the gathered cot-ton from picker-stems when so operated and while out of engagement with the cotton plants, whereby is avoided the necessity of reversing the direction of rotation ofthe picker-stems in order to discharge the cotton, and the stems may be rotated continuously in one direction. This object is attained by the devicesillustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a vertical section through a cotton-harvester embodying my invention, on the line 1 1 of Fig. 2, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows; Fig. 2, a rear elevation of a half of the machine, more clearly showingoneform of mechanism foroperating the cleaner devices; Fig. 3, a detail plan View of the operative parts of my machine with the frame-work removed; Fig. 4, an enlarged side elevation of a portion ot' the picker-stem supports and cleaner-belts, more clearly illustrating the relative location and operation thereof; Fig. 5, an enlarged central section through the picker-stem support.

Similarletters of reference indicate the sam parts in the several figures of the drawings.

Referring by letter to the accompanying drawings, A indicates the frame of my machine supported upon ground-wheels B, of any suitable character or arrangement, and carrying a vertical drum or cylinder C, loosely journaled therein and vconstituting a support for picker-stems D, arranged in horizontal series about and projecting radially from the support. This drum is centered upon andrevolves loosely about a liXed central shaft E, secured rigidly to the frame of the machine in any well-known and convenient manner, upon which shaft is mounted a series of beveled annular gears F, adapted and arranged to mesh with and drive correspondingly-beveled pinions G, secured to the inner ends or journals of the picker-stems.-

The drum or cylinder C may be caused to rotate in any suitable manner, a simple form of mechanism for accomplishing this end being illustrated in the drawings, consisting of a beveled gear H, secured to the upper end of the drum, with which meshesa corresponding beveled gear I, mounted upon a cross driveshaft J, suitably7 journaled upon the frame of the machine, upon the outer end of which is mounted a sprocket-wheel L, driven by a sprocket-chain M, working overa sprocketwheel N, secured to the ground ordrive wheel B. j So much of the machine as has been described forms no part of the present invention, except forthe purpose of producing the bodily travel and axial rotation of the picker-stems, it having been previously described in my hereinbefore-mentioned application. These picker-stems are passed into the cotton-plants in the opposite direction from the travel of the machine, where they gather the cotton and then pass forward While out of the plants to be relieved of the gathered cotton, and to accomplish this end l provide a series of horizontal belts O, arranged at one side ot' the machine in a suitable compartment, occupying the spaces between thehorizontal series of picker-stems, which belts are driven in the same direction as the stems move bodily, but at a greater speed than the peripheral travel of the stems, in order to strip the gathered cotton therefrom, it being understood that while I have shown in the drawings abristlelike picking-surface for the stems this surface may be composed of any other form of ICD teeth, metallic or otherwise, that will engage the fibers of the cotton. These belts may be arranged so as to have one belt for each horizontal series of stems, or a single belt may be employed for cleaning two sets or series of stems, for with the -stems all rotating in the same direction and the two parts of the belt traveling in opposite directions between the Series-that is, one below and the other above a seriesthe proper direction of -travel of the belt relative to the picker-stems will be preserved. These belts may be driven by any suitable mechanism; but for the purpose of illustration I have illustrated one form of beltoperating mechanism consisting of a line-shaft L another sprocket-wheel t' upon the main driveshaft J, over which Wheels works a sprocketchain j, communicating the rotary motion of the main to the counter shaft.

It will be observed that the relation and sizes of the various gears are such that the belts will have imparted thereto a faster travel than the peripheral travel of the pickerstems; and it will of course be understood that the cleaner-belts will be brought in contact with that surface of the stems which moves in the direction the stems are moving around the cylinder Where a separate belt operates upon each series of stems; but where a single belt operates upon two series of stems this arrangement cannot and need not be preserved. The cotton will be discharged from the ends of the cleaner-belts by the combined action of gravity and centrifugal force, and

may be there received and removed to any suitable receptacle carried by themachine.

The vertical rotating support carrying the rotatable picker-stems projecting radiallyI therefrom and the series of separate belts for removing the cotton from the stems, such as is herein described, were illustrated and described in an application for Letters Patent of the United States filed by me on or about the 23d day of June, A. D. 1885, Serial No. 169,498, but were not specially claimed therein, other forms of cleaner devices being also illustrated in said case, and the whole covered by the generic claims, and this application is therefore made for the purpose of embodying specically the features set forth in my aforesaid application.

Having described my invention, what I claim,and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s-

l. In a cotton-harvester, the combination of a vertical revolving cylinder, radially-projecting picker-stems carried by saidv cylinder, mechanism for rotating said stems upon their own axes, a series of cleaner-belts, and mechanism for imparting to said belts a movement in the same direction as the stems, the belts being made to move more rapidly than the combined motion ot' the stems, substantially as described.

2. In a cotton-harvester, the combination of a vertical revolving cylinder, radially-projecting picker-stems carried by the cylinder, mechanism for revolving the stems upon their own axes, a series of cleaner-belts arranged over the stems and moving in the same direction, and mechanism for operating the belts and moving them more rapidly than they combined motions of the stems.

GEORGE N. TODD. Witnesses.

W. R. OMOHUNDRO, A. L. MoRsELL. 

